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Purpose:We examined the neurocognitive bases of lexical morphology in children of varied reading abilities to understand the role of meaning-based skills in learning to read with dyslexia. Method:Children completed auditory morphological and phonological awareness tasks during functional near-infrared spectroscopy neuroimaging. We first examined the relation between lexical morphology and phonological processes in typically developing readers (Study 1,N= 66,Mage= 8.39), followed by a more focal inquiry into lexical morphology processes in dyslexia (Study 2,N= 50,Mage= 8.62). Results:Typical readers exhibited stronger engagement of language neurocircuitry during the morphology task relative to the phonology task, suggesting that morphological analyses involve synthesizing multiple components of sublexical processing. This effect was stronger for more analytically complex derivational affixes (like + ly) than more semantically transparent free base morphemes (snow + man). In contrast, children with dyslexia exhibited stronger activation during the free base condition relative to derivational affix condition. Taken together, the findings suggest that although children with dyslexia may struggle with derivational morphology, they may also use free base morphemes' semantic information to boost word recognition. Conclusion:This study informs literacy theories by identifying an interaction between reading ability, word structure, and how the developing brain learns to recognize words in speech and print. Supplemental Material:https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25944949
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This content will become publicly available on August 18, 2026
The Facilitatory Role of Rhyme During Word Learning: Behavioral and Event-Related Potential Evidence
Purpose:Rhyme increases the phonological similarity of phrases individuals hear and enhances recall from working memory. This study explores whether rhyme aids word learning and examines the underlying neural mechanisms through which rhyme facilitates word learning. Method:Fifty-seven adults completed a word learning task where they were exposed to 15 nonwords (NWs), four times each, in the sentence-final position as their electroencephalogram was recorded. Participants were randomly assigned to either a Rhyme or No-Rhyme group, where the NWs rhymed or did not rhyme with a prime real word in the sentence, respectively, during the exposure phase. Subjects were then tested on their recognition of the NWs. Results:Behavioral accuracy on the NW recognition task did not differ between the Rhyme and No-Rhyme groups; however, the Rhyme group showed an enhanced bilateral P2 in the early exposure phase, which has been linked to increased attention to the phonological and semantic features of speech. By contrast, the No-Rhyme group showed an attenuated N400 amplitude at left centroparietal sites in the later exposure phase, related to semantic retrieval of NWs. Conclusion:These findings indicate that rhyme may facilitate encoding of word meaning via attention to both phonology and semantic information; however, the absence of rhyme does not hinder adults' ability to map meaning to novel words. Supplemental Material:https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.29737478
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- Award ID(s):
- 2141007
- PAR ID:
- 10629803
- Publisher / Repository:
- Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research
- ISSN:
- 1092-4388
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1 to 14
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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